Menino, Hennigan face off in final stretch
Yawu Miller
According to Thomas Menino’s supporters, Boston’s mayor
has pumped more than $100 million into development projects in Roxbury,
assembled a diverse staff that has made City Hall more accessible
to people of color and tackled tough issues that other mayors have
shied from like education reform.
According to mayoral challenger Maura Hennigan’s supporters,
Menino has run the city with little accountability to the neighborhoods
he serves, done little to improve the city’s schools and —
in a city that is more than 50 percent people of color — assembled
an administration that has no Latinos heading a major department.
On November 8, Boston voters will decide whom they believe. And
if a recent Boston Globe/CBS 4 poll is correct, voters will overwhelmingly
vote for Menino. Even in the African American community, support
for the mayor remains strong.
“The folks I talk to talk about how people like Menino,”
said Horace Small, executive director of the Union of Minority Neighborhoods.
“You ask why and they can’t point to anything specific.
They just like him because he shows up.”
Small, who is backing Hennigan, acknowledges that black voters are
appreciative of Menino’s efforts to redevelop the Blue Hill
Avenue corridor and renovate major office buildings in Dudley Square
— commitments of tens of millions of dollars in federal and
city funding.
But Small says he thinks the city would benefit from a changing
of the guard every eight-or-so-years.
“I just think at some point, the creativity, the substance,
the forward thinking you need to create a progressive society just
stops,” he said. “At some point there needs to be a
whole set of fresh ideas.”
As for fresh ideas, Hennigan says she plans to establish a city
services hotline with a 311 number, if elected, that would make
city government more accessible.
She told the Banner that she would also make city records available
to all citizens.
“Public information really is public, she said. “In
this administration, they hide information. If you want public information,
even if you work for the city, you have to go through all kinds
of red tape.”
Hennigan’s emphasis on public records comes on the heels of
newsmedia criticism that the administration would not release police
department statistics on shootings in the run-up to the November
8 election. While the call may win her friends in the media, however,
it may not be enough to sway voters.
Hennigan has picked up significant endorsements from the black community,
including former state Rep. Mel King and the Black Political Task
Force.
Menino has walked away with the lion’s share of endorsements,
including a who’s-who of black ministers and prominent activists
in the black community including Veterans Benefits Clearinghouse
Executive Director Ralph Cooper, Dudley Square Main Streets Director
Joyce Stanley and Banner Publisher Melvin Miller.
Menino also benefits from having the largest political organization
in the city — city workers. When he was appointed acting mayor
in 1993, he quickly consolidated control over the city’s political
machinery, consolidating his hold on the mayor’s seat and
on politics in Boston.
Without the power of incumbency and the ability to dole out tens
of millions in federal funds, Hennigan has nowhere near the ability
to secure the endorsements Menino has.
Hennigan’s criticism of the lack of Latinos in leadership
positions may have gained her some purchase in the Latino community.
“You would hope all of the city’s leadership would look
at what the demographics of the city are so that folks who make
up every part of the community have a role to play in how the city
is governed,” said veteran community activist Jose Masso.
“I think people in the Latino community are looking for much
more. People would be supportive of a Latino being appointed a department
head.”
But, as Masso notes, that discontent may not translate into votes.
“Will it be enough to make a difference? We’ll find
out on election day,” he said.
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